Live Christmas Wreath

A Live Christmas Wreath can be a wonderful way to decorate your door, columns of your porch or even your car!

A nice mixed evergreen wreath for the holidays. The greenery base is noble fir. The yellow tipped incense cedar provides a nice contrast to the green.

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Types Of Material In Live Wreaths

Wreaths can be built with a single evergreen material or a mixture of evergreen plant materials.

Noble Fir is the most popular evergreen to use as a base for wreaths. The needles grow around the stem rather than just on the sides so it give a fuller look to a branch. The needles have faint blue tint to them.

Canadian Balsam is inexpensive and has a nice medium green coloring.

Boxwood has oval or oblong leaves rather than needles. Wreaths using boxwood are becoming more popular every year.

White Pine has a nice soft look to it. The needles are soft so they curve gracefully.

Oregonia is a boxwood look alike that is variegated. Small roundish leaves with a tiny white band on the edge. This type of wreath can last a relatively long time.

Make your own live Christmas wreath with materials from your yard with these step by step instructions.

What To Look For When Buying Fresh Greens

When you are buying a live Christmas wreath you want to look for certain signs that the wreath is going to last through the holidays.

Some needle drop is to be expected especially if the wreath has been handled a lot. Needles work loose from the stem. Major dropping of needles is not a good sign.

Coloring should be green to a greyish green, brown spots on the needles means the wreath has been frosted or sunscolded and will deteriorate quicker.

Making Your Wreath Last Longer

Any evergreen branch cut from a tree has a shelf life. Your wreath is made from cut branches so it too has a shelf life.

While most live Christmas wreaths will last through the season, some will not. The temperature, amount of moisture it receives and the freshness of the material all factor in on the shelf life.

You can increase the amount of time your wreath stays green by applying a product called "Wilt Proof" to your wreaths. Wilt Proof is like a liquid wax that coats the needles and seals in the moisture.
Some sellers of wreaths will dip or spray the wreath before offering them to the public. Ask your retailer if they have treated the wreaths.

Is Holly A Good Evergreen To Use

If you live in a location where the winters are warm, fresh holly is a good material to use in wreaths. If you live in a cold winter area, holly is not a good material to use.

Holly looks great in wreaths but when exposed to cold temperatures it gets frost bite! The leaves will turn black whey they get frosted. The berries don't like staying on when they get cold and will fall off the wreath.

If you live in a cold climate area, use artificial holly on your wreaths.